Divine
by unsimpletruth
Summary: Ginger is good for nothing. Her mind has been altered so many times there isn't much left. And she does a terrible job watching Fangtasia during the day. After 300 goes missing, he decides it's time she does too- and he like the replacement much better.
1. Prologue: Humanity

**Prologue: Humanity**

Eric Northman was not happy.

This was not a surprise to anyone who knew him- after about 1800 years wandering the earth, a numbness had encompassed him. In order to keep from loosing control, he had long ago learned to suppress anger, ecstasy, grief, fear. The things that clouted his judgement. Unfortunately, no one, not even a vampire, can select which emotions they keep and discard. He fell into a cool numbness.

So no, it was not a surprise that he was not happy because he was rarely anything. With the exceptions of while having sex and feeding, of course.

But on this particular day, being not happy was a surprise to him.

This change in feeling had signalled something in his mind- he _had been_ happy.

Ever since Godric's death Eric felt a change in him. He felt a whisper of humanity in his soul. The heroic, unchanging pillar of his undead life was gone. It made a fracture in his being, and that fracture was letting all of those feelings he fought against so long sliding back into himself.

Before, Sookie was simply a curiosity. A interesting human. After 18 centuries, interesting was a trait hard to come by. Coupled with her resistance, he began to desire her. Her beauty didn't hurt either- but that much meant very little to him anymore. Beauties have blended together.

But after the death of his maker, the opening of the crack, his desire for her increased tenfold. Accompanied with feeling true anguish for the first time in centuries, he experienced true longing for a woman, body and mind. For the first time since birth.

And hell, if she could fill Bill this way, that weak, young vampire, Sookie could certainly do it for Eric, right.

But even after drinking his blood she still would not go to him.

The thought of them together made him happy.

His plan not working.

This made him _un_happy.

The first revelation that more emotions were surfacing was startling. It created an anger inside him.

And now, Ginger, the idiotic daygirl, had let 300$ go missing.

And now she sat, quivering on a cushioned stool before him and Pam, only a few hours before the club opened.

"Should we call in Sookie?" Pam asked in her usual dry tone, her eyes never leaving the emaciated blood bag. "I could glamor her into telling us what happened, but I know how much you love to bring her in."

"What for? Even if..." He blanked on the daygirl's name, "Ginger didn't steal the money, she failed at her duties. And not for the first time might I add. I see no use for her anymore."

"Oh please don't fire me!" Her eyes had been watering before, but now tears streamed down her face now. Pathetic.

"Who said we were going to fire you?" Pam smiled viciously, "You aren't leaving. May I?"

"She's all yours. I'm going for a walk." Eric turned around and headed to the door. "See you at opening."

He could hear her screams. He had learned to tune that out long ago- what was happening to him?

Fucking humanity.

* * *

**This is my first fan fiction, so please R&R! **

**The first official "chapter" should come soon. **


	2. Chapter 1: Interesting

**Disclaimer: If I owned True Blood, do you really think Godric would be dead?**

**A/N: Thank you kc936 and emmetismymonkeyman for the reviews! I'm grateful for any feedback I can get, so people keep it up!**

* * *

**Chapter 1: **

**Interesting**

_"Patience, little one, you must have patience."_

_"I'm trying master. But does effectiveness not come from the quickest strike?"_

_"Patience, then speed. The lioness waits for the perfect moment to attack her prey. Remember this and you will be successful."_

_

* * *

_

AJ felt filthy. She ran out of money three weeks ago, and that was the last time she washed herself properly. And as clean and lovely as the water is in Louisiana, it wasn't the same as a good hot shower. Fortunately, It was wondrously dark that night. The moon was a waning crescent, shedding little light. The trees blocked most of the miniscule brightness shadowing the black and completely still pond. About three miles in from any road from her guess. It was optimal for privacy.

She undressed quickly, removing khaki shorts that reached her knees, and a brown tank top. AJ looked at the monochrome pile with some disgust thinking, and not for the first time, _Not exactly how I used to dress_. But those days were far behind her. Colour was a luxury her lifestyle, traveling and running, couldn't afford.

The water was blissfully warm, as expected. But shallow, AJ had to move out to the middle for it to reach her waist. The trees didn't reach that far out, and in the clear centre she caught her reflection.

"Oh my gosh!" It was worse than she thought. In denial from not seeing herself, she hadn't thought she was that bad. But there was dirt, visible patches of pure dirt, smeared on her face. It was worst under her brown eyes, across her forehead, on the apple of her cheeks. Like a mean four-year-old applied the wrong shade of cover up while she was sleeping.

She dove in and rinsed herself as best she could, thankful that her hair was so short. Barely knotted at all.

Climbing out, she began to dress, not caring her clothes would be wet. The girl was just too damn tired from traveling, looking for work all day. Glancing at her hands, she could tell that her outer aura, the one that detected mood, was a defeated grey-blue. Bedtime.

As she began to search for a place to curl up for the night, AJ let her mind wander back to the safety she once had. The warm home, loving parents, loyal friends, but most importantly right now, the big bed. She had it _all._ Her outer aura was almost always a shining yellow then, loud and happy. And she did like the life she had now, a constant adventure. It was dangerous and thrilling, and heck, after all those years of practically being insulated she felt alive.

But if she could do this then go back, complete the danger and walk back to safety? If she could simply return, that... that would be wonderful. If only. But AJ simply wasn't destined to have her cake and eat it too.

However, she was done with Louisiana. Red Necks were only interesting for so long. At this point she'd do anything to get a plane ticket. Or a real shower. Plus this place- was it Bon Tamps? Bien Tamps? Some thing like that. It smelled off. Especially right now. How could a place so warm still smell of a cool winter day-

Wait.

Cool winter day? Damn. She'd smelt that before.

A Vampire.

AJ couldn't run. It would catch her. It could glamour her. It was much, much stronger then her. Her heart began to race.

Well, at least she could remove it's element of surprise. "I know you're there."

He was right in front of her, barely inches away. There's nothing like Vampire speed to knock you on your ass. He was so close in her attempt to move away AJ lost her balance and fell back onto the ground, with a gracefull "Ooof". She wouldn't look up at him. That would risk looking into his eyes. _The hell you're going to glamour me._ Her heart thumped away faster and faster, as if her need to slow it down sped it up.

"Hello," The Vamp said, chuckling down at her. He had a wonderfully sexy voice, she had to admit. Deep and dark with a touch of a rasp. "And what are you doing out so late by yourself, little girl?"

Little girl? Hah. If he only knew.

She blinked and he was on one knee beside her, obviously aware of how his speed dizzied humans. But even more breathtaking than his speed was his chest. Hot damn. Why did the bloodsuckers have to be so freakin' attractive?

"I asked you a question."

"Well I don't have an answer." Did she just say that? She seemed to have lost control over her body, because she looked him straight in the eyes as she did, with her best defiant glare. This had no effect on him, apparently.

Before he could reel her in with his Vamp tricks, she looked away again. But his face was still burned in her mind. Large blue eyes, high cheek bones, red mouth against white skin, blonde hair, and an extremely muscular build. Barbie's older brother minus the tan. And this guy seemed to know it.

But his aura, that was something different. So many layers. Hints of yellow-green- who was he jealous of? Plenty of shades of red. Deep red for survival. Muddied red for anger, clear red for sex. But most surprisingly he had a clear space between his outer and inner emotions. Usually the things you feel are on the outside, and the things that define you are on the inside. She had never seen a space between them before. His inside colours were deep purple, this guy obviously thought he was king shit, and brown, the colour of strength and masculinity.

She could have analyzed it for ages. His core aura was so thick- well, hell this guy was ancient.

"So you're out here for no reason? "

"No."

"No one knows you're here?"

"Sure, my family knows I went for a walk." She lied. No reason to let him know that her death would be unnoticed. "And that I'll be back soon."

"They are aware you prefer to bathe in a pond?" The sarcasm was heavy in his voice.

"You- you saw- um- Yes. I should get home." Knowing full well there was little chance of him believing her, AJ tried to stand. And failed. He grabbed her arm quickly. And, dear god, was he made of steel?

"What's your name?"

"What's yours?" She was just stalling now. Her hand slowly went to her pocket. They were making eye contact now. She held his gaze as well as she could.

"I asked first, Human."

"I asked second, Vamp."

And suddenly AJ was on her back, with him hovering over. "You are in no position to be so... cheeky."

Her hand was still on her pocket. Deep breath. "AJ. My name is AJ."

"A.J." He smirked, "well, I'm Eric."

"Hello Eric." Just got to take it out slowly now.

"Is AJ an acronym?" His tone was slow and patronizing.

"Yeah," Don't let him see it, "It stands for mind your own freakin'business."

So surprisingly that this "Eric" guy didn't see it coming, AJ flicked open the pocket knife she had and stabbed him in the gut. No, it wouldn't kill him, it would barely hurt him. She knew that. However, she didn't want to be bitten and it was a good distraction. His eyes went wide as the blade slid in, and she had hardly taken it out before scrambling out from under him and running.

Her plan didn't work very well. No one would have expected it to. Less then two feet later she was up against a tree, Eric holding her neck, fangs out. Al she did was make him angry.

"You know, I wasn't planning on killing you, just drinking from you."

"But, you, um, you can't drink someone with- without permission." _Stop stuttering!_

"That's why there's glamour."

There wasn't much chance of appealing to his sympathies, with his emotions so blocked off. Might as well be brazen. "Well? Why haven't you, you know, offed me yet."

"Because I have a question for you. Are you going to give a straight answer?"

"At this point, why the heck not. Ask away."

"How did you know I was there?"

"You won't believe me."

His hand tightened on her throat. "Ok, I smelled you."

"Smelled me? Interesting."

_If he is as old as I think he is, interesting might be the only thing keeping me alive._

"Yeah, I guess you could say I'm interesting."

* * *

Eric smiled to himself. She may have stabbed him, but could potentially be a good distraction for a while. Humans can't smell Vampires, with no exceptions. At least not from that distance. So either she was a liar, and had known he was there in some other way, or she wasn't human. Either way, this AJ could be interesting. It was worth investigating. If not, she did have fantastic smelling blood. Maybe even a virgin.

He looked her straight in the eyes, emptying himself out, pulling her conscience into his mind. "Your will is mine, human."

"Yes."


	3. Chapter 2: Aspirin

**Disclaimer:** I own AJ, but the rest of the True Blood/ Sookie Stackhouse Chronicles is not mine.

**A/N:** Thanks to all of my reviewers, and silent readers! Also, I'd like to note that this story occurs in a series limbo of sorts, and probably won't follow the plot line of the current season (though I may allude to it). Not that this season isn't fantastic! I'm especially loving Jason right about now.

**Chapter 2:**

**Aspirin**

"_I'm leaving. I'm not coming back."_

"_I know you think that, you silly girl. But the moment you use your gift, I will find you."_

"_I won't use my gift."_

"_The earth is a dangerous place. I'll get you eventually."_

AJ woke up to a migraine pounding a steady beat into her head. Absolutely breathtakingly painful. Her only solace was that where she was, wherever she was, seemed blissfully dark. AJ had only had a migraine once before, and knew that any light would be like a knife through her skull.

_Panic later, sleep now._ AJ instructed herself firmly, rolling from her back to her side. _You've probably just been glamoured, possibly been fed on by vampires, and definitely don't know where you are. But you're in a bed, apparently. Take advantage while you still can._

Well, there you go. AJ wanted a bed, and now she was in one. Life just seemed to work out.

Or it would have, if she could fall back asleep. Frickin' eh.

_Find aspirin. Go back to bed._ Good plan.

Pulling what appeared to be a heavy quilt off of her, AJ pulled herself into sitting position. Her migraine was not happy with her.

Leaning back, AJ realized It wasn't a bed after all –_sonofagun-_ but a couch. AJ had been taught to appreciate what was given to her, but the letdown was still there. Blocking out the pain, she stood slowly and stumbled through the dark, hands gliding across the wall until she found the lightswitch. The light reveal what appeared to be an office, apparently, with a modest desk, chairs and some shelves. AJ didn't really care about that. Obviously, there was not going to be anything to help her head here. She walked straight for the door and turned the knob.

Or, tried to. The damn thing was locked. What kind of an office locks from the outside? Knowing her effort was in vain, AJ tugged with all her might anyway.

"C'mon..." she muttered, twisting more fiercely now. AJ could not pick a lock. Perhaps years ago she could have kicked it down, but that was before she had become a vagabond and lost most of her muscle mass. All she could do now was get really pissed. "SHIT! I NEED ASPRIN! ANYONE OUT THERE?" the yelling hurt but it satisfied her anger.

Within seconds the door was open, and a vampire woman was standing in front of her.

"Perfect timing, I was just about to wake you up. Now what's this I hear about needing aspirin?" The woman's voice was sweet as honey, with that southern bell kind of charm to it. The rest of her contrasted completely. Oh she was beautiful- no doubt about that. However, a true southern bell wouldn't wear black pumps and a skin tight purple mini dress with a plunging neckline.

"Who are you? Actually, I don't care unless the answer is 'the aspirin lady'. My head is about to burst." AJ hoped her rudeness could distract the woman long enough to get around her. She tried to worm around her, but was easily thwarted. The vampire got her by the throat in a vice-like grip, pushing AJ against the nearest wall in the office.

"My name is Pam, and you must either be an idiot with a death wish or have one hell of a trick up your sleeve to think you can talk to me like that," Pam's voice never rose, but there was a touch of steel to it. Her grip tightened. "Well, you should use that trick right about now."

AJ tried to focus. Last time she timed herself, AJ could go about five minutes without air. Keep in mind there was no adrenaline rush speeding her oxygen use and she was sitting last time, AJ could probably go for three if she stopped struggling.

_Don't use your power, _she commanded herself.

The grip slackened, then her hand fell away entirely. "That's what I thought, AJ."

AJ didn't respond. Instead she massaged her throat, which would probably bruise. Crap.

Her head hurt too much to look at Pam's aura, but she was willing to bet that it looked a whole lot like Eric's.

"Did I hear a problem?" Speak of the devil.

Eric, the vampire from last night (or, what AJ assumed was last night, it could have been a week for all she knew), entered the office.

"She is _exactly_ as rude as you described her."

"Was little AJ giving you trouble?"

AJ's face burned. Being 5'0 (well, 4'11 ½ but she rounded up) made height a bit of a sensitive issue for her. After having people comment on how short she was for her entire life was rather irksome.

"I need a goddamned aspirin."

Eric smiled. Somehow, the smile seemed more like a threat. "It seems that AJ has not learned her lesson about being rude to vampires."

"I'm afraid I won't learn much with this killer headache."

They moved on as if she said nothing. "You know, she hasn't once asked about where she was, what we did to her, how long she's been out for, all that whiny crap humans usually bring up." Pam commented dryly.

"Really?" Eric tilted his head to the right. She was still interesting. Good.

"What can I say? I live in the now. And right _now_ I feel like my head is going to burst open."

"You also don't know where you are right _now _either. You also don't know why your head hurts right _now_." He smirked and they exchanged a look. AJ's stomach sunk. What the heck had she done?

"Pain will always be at the top of my fix it list. So, aspirin?"

They ignored her began talking in a language AJ was completely unfamiliar with. The only way she could describe it was that it sounded heavy on the tongue, like Russian. But it wasn't Russian. However, Pam's face appeared more and more annoyed as the conversation continued. Eventually she stalked out of the room, glaring over her shoulder.

"Pam has kindly offered to go to a drug store to get you aspirin." Eric told AJ, with his clear blue eyes boring a hole in her. "So, you never did explain how you could smell me."

"Forgot to ask when you glamoured me?" She responded in, what she hoped, was a bored tone. In reality, it began to dawn on her the extent of what she may have revealed to him.

"No, I did ask you, little AJ, but while you were open as any human on some subjects, others were... closed."

"Like?"

"Did you really think I was going to be completely forthcoming about the remainder of last night?" AJ didn't think it was possible, but her stomach sank even lower. "You still did not answer my question. The more you tell me, the more you will find out."

"How can I trust you're telling me the truth about what happened?"

"I have footage from my security cameras- however they do not have sound. So, you will just have to trust me." He grinned. It wasn't very trust inspiring.

"You really don't know what you're getting into," AJ said quietly, "It's not too late. You could let me go, and forget this ever happened."

Eric stared for a moment, then stepped towards her, until they were dangerously close. AJ could have sworn electricity was bouncing between them. He leaned over, so she didn't have to crane her neck to look him in the eye. That cool, wintery smell she noticed before filled her nose. She closed her eyes, and felt his face come even closer, Eric's lips were perhaps a hairsbreadth from her own. Hell, AJ wanted him.

"Now, where's the fun in that?" He asked. AJ opened her eyes and he was at least six feet away from her, smiling that stupid smile of his.

Pam returned, a glass of water in one hand, a pill in the other, and an irritated expression on her face. "I know the adult dosage is two pills, but I really think the child amount will be enough for you."

AJ glared, but said nothing. She took the water and pill, and moved to the couch to sit. Eric and Pam pulled up chairs and sat across from her.

"Well, might was well get this over with."

AJ placed the pill on the palm of her hand, so they could see it clearly. She concentrated on the tablet, feeling its structure. The acetylsalicylic acid was the main curative ingredient. Thinking about where the inflammation was, she gradually siphoned (siphoned it the best way to describe it) the acid through her skin and into her a vein. She followed the path to the heart , and made sure it went straight to the brain.

She wiped the excess from the pill (lubricant and such) onto her pants. AJ was relieved to see she was in the same clothing as before.

Within seconds, her head felt better.

"So, first question?"


End file.
